Prunella Scales dies aged 93 after decades in British comedy

British actress Prunella Scales, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty in the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 93. 

The late star’s family confirmed she passed away peacefully at her home in London on Monday.

Her sons, Samuel and Joseph, said in a statement that their “darling mother” died peacefully surrounded by love. 

They shared that she continued to live at home even after dementia forced her to retire from acting. “She was watching Fawlty Towers the day before she died,” they said. 

Scales was married to actor Timothy West for 61 years before his death in November 2024.

Born in Surrey in 1932, the late icon began her career as an assistant stage manager at the Bristol Old Vic before rising to fame in the 1960s sitcom The Marriage Lines.

However, star role as the sharp-tongued Sybil Fawlty made her a national treasure and one of Britain’s most beloved comedy figures.

Scales’s career spanned nearly seven decades and included a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution in 1991. 

She also widely recognised for her decade-long run in Tesco advertisements as the character Dotty.

Moreover, the star continued working alongside her husband in projects such as Big in Brazil and later appeared with him in Great Canal Journeys, a travel series that won hearts for showing their warmth and humour.

Prunella family thanked the caregivers who made her final days “comfortable, contented and surrounded by love.”